Embrace the Advantage of Elevated Flower Beds with Trellises - Discover Stylish Decorative Concepts
In the world of gardening, raised garden beds with trellises have become a popular project among enthusiasts this year. These vertical structures not only add a decorative touch to your garden but also help expand growing space, allowing for the cultivation of vining crops.
A trellis can be a frame-like structure sunk into the soil or a latticework cage supported by plastic or metal hoops. For lighter-weight vines, an abutting support like a fence or balcony railing and sturdy twine may suffice. For heavier crops or those with thick vines, metal stakes or rebar are ideal.
When choosing a trellis for a raised bed, consider what you will be trellising, its weight, your budget, location, and whether you want a long-lasting or temporary structure. For instance, untreated scaffold boards or metal cattle panels are sturdy and easy to handle, while chicken wire, plastic mesh, or string can create a latticework for fruits to climb.
Effective vertical structures can be designed to suit your needs. For sprawling crops like cucumbers, frame trellises are suitable, while other vertical growers like beans, peas, and smaller squash varieties can climb a chain link fence abutting the raised bed. If you're looking for a more creative approach, repurposing materials such as vintage ladders, lattice panels, or old window frames can add a decorative and functional vertical element to your garden, supporting plants like cucumbers, clematis, climbing roses, or morning glories.
The trellis should be high enough, around four feet, to support climbing plants and positioned so it integrates with the raised bed structure, which maximizes vertical growing space and keeps crops off the ground. Building waist-height raised beds with attached trellises can also reduce back strain and improve access during gardening.
When installing the trellis, ensure it presses firmly against the soil-filled bed to prevent movement as plants grow. Filling raised beds using a layered technique—branches at the base topped with garden soil and compost—can improve drainage and plant health while supporting the trellis.
Remesh, a metal mesh, is a more affordable option compared to a hog or cattle panel trellis, but it will eventually get a rustic, rusty look. If you prefer a temporary structure, net mesh or string can be easily disassembled at the end of the season by snipping a few select strings.
Amy Grant, a professional chef, caterer, and gardener with 30 years of gardening experience and 15 years of writing experience, emphasises the importance of selecting sturdy, weather-resistant materials and thoughtful vertical structures for your trellis. Her area of expertise is culinary gardening.
In summary, effective trellis use in raised beds involves combining strong, weather-resistant materials with thoughtful vertical structures; integrating trellises into bed construction for stability; selecting appropriate plants; and considering ergonomic design features for ease of gardening. Raised beds offer numerous benefits, including accessibility, earlier harvests, prevention of soil compaction, better drainage, fewer weeds, and more growing space per square foot.
A home-and-garden enthusiast might consider using a latticework structure for their cucumbers, made from untreated scaffold boards or chicken wire, which can add a decorative touch to their raised lifestyle garden while effectively expanding growing space. Heavy-duty vines, such as climbing roses or morning glories, could benefit from a permanent trellis made with metal stakes or rebar, integrated into the raised bed structure to ensure stability.
